I don't think it's an accident that we don't see many people responding to this article here, but I'm still disappointed in the apparent lack of interest. It's not "sexy" or "exciting" to talk about oppression, or to think about something other than satisfying our jaded appetites for cheap thrills. Here is a real issue that needs attention, yet we ignore it here--but then, our politicians ignore it too. Our government supports the current government in Afghanistan, yet the Taliban is re-emerging as a formidable power. What was the point of sending our troops there if the same extremists return to their old jobs? These conditions under the "vice and virtue" laws and enforcement are nothing less than brutal dehumanization of women and girls, and we must pressure the powers-that-be (our government, UN, EU) to pressure the new Afghan government to back off from reinstituting this system. Afghanistan will never rise from the rubble of its past as a terrorist training playground as long it continues its politics of rendering as invisible Afghan women and girls. We as women and men who believe in social justice and freedom have a vested interest in the dismantling of the Taliban's weapons against their own people--and this weapon needs to be smashed.

I think the images, along with the sexualization of girl children and the sexual harassment of women workers in the service industries, represent a growing trend in Western cultures--the normalizing of rape and exploitation, as well as commodifying our bodies as a site upon which to wage war. Of course, the flip side of this coin was illustrated in today's article about the Mars Hill community where you see women being turned into baby machines for the fundamentalist movement. The sad part of these growing trends is the realization that none of them represent anything particularly new; we are fighting old battles over the control of our bodies and lives. Those of us who were paying attention could see the signs of the clock turning back with the infusion of BDSM culture and fashion into the mainstream. Indeed, the Italian images would probably work quite well within the context of sadomasochism, given its overtly misogynist tone. The question is do we, as women (and men who are progressive), really want to see ourselves reduced to breasts, ass, and orifices? And if we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of being objectified, used, and abused, what are we prepared to do to take back control of our lives? I believe that one significant part of answering that question is to counter the argument that we live in a "post-feminist" era, since it is clear that we are not yet free from the bondage of patriarchy. We need a fourth wave of feminist liberation, one that will not stand down in the face of these seemingly overwhelming odds. It's long overdue.

I think you are missing the point here: the images are "celebrating" sex and violence, and at the very least, infusing sex with police brutality. There is nothing politically progressive about them, and the "indifference" to misogyny is overwhelming. This is about rape, control, and destruction. I see nothing but hate in these images. The whole spread is basically garbage.

It's far more revolutionary to be erotic and spiritual, where the emphasis is placed on a real exchange of love, where power is shared, and where sexual communion is an act of love and the imaginative. You connect with your partner in a manner that celebrates the sensual and the spiritual, where the carnal self and the soul are not somehow split into a false dichotomy. These purveyors of smut would like to encourage such a binary with this sleazy photo spread.

The authors of these images believe themselves as "cutting edge" and "daring," and they seem to be following the current trend of using the semipornographic and/or kink to sell products or concepts. But the truly erotic is not about misogyny or commodities, and it cannot be photographed, phoned in, or blogged into some porn site--and that's because the erotic is about love and fulfillment of the heart. And you love yourself, you will not become party to anything that would deny you access to real love. You also have no need or desire to control, exploit, or destroy others.

We could all learn from Audre Lorde, whose writing was sensuous, daring, and, indeed, erotic. When we fill our heads with that garbage from Vogue, we (both men and women) destroy something vital within our own beings. We see each other as body parts, and we become robotic in our interactions with each other. All of us deserve better from our collective existence.